Bring It On Home
by HeidiBug731
Summary: Spying is taking its toll on Remus. Tonks tries to get him to open up. Song fic. Written post HBP. You got someone here who wants to make it all right, someone that loves you more than life.


I know I'm supposed to be working on "Phases" but my horoscope (from three different locations) told me that today I should run wild with my creative side. You could argue that it meant that I was suppose to write the next chapter of "Phases," but I heard the song "Bring It On Home" on the radio and I took it to have different meaning. I couldn't resist.

* * *

**Bring It On Home**

Tonks sat at the table, patiently waiting for and thinking of Remus. He was off spying again. She knew it was important, but she also saw the toll the task took on him and a part of her didn't think it was fair that Dumbledore had asked him to do this. _You got someone here who wants to make it all right, someone that loves you more than life, right here._

Every time he came back he looked warier, older. The lines in his face seemed deeper and the gray in his hair appeared more pronounced. He always came back exhausted, and Tonks knew he hated it. No matter how important he told her that this job was, she knew he didn't want to be there. It was a nightmare, but he felt it was his duty, to Dumbledore and the Order, to stay in it. She couldn't talk him out of it, so she had learned to except it. _You got willin' arms that'll hold you tight, a hand to lead you on through the night, right here._

Remus never complained about the task he had been asked to carry out, but nor did he ever say a word about it. He needed some kind of an outlet, she knew. Her biggest and most secret fear was that the strain was slowly killing him. She was the only one on duty tonight, so she sat at the table and waited for his return._ I know your heart can get all tangled up inside, but don't you keep it to yourself_.

At last, she heard the sounds of someone at the door. She hurried from her chair, but she didn't make it in time to open it for him. He pushed the door open slowly, like it wasn't worth the effort. When his face came into view, he seemed to have aged several years since the last time she'd seen him, and that had only been a week ago. His feet shuffled against the floor as he came in, like he couldn't find the strength needed to lift them.

_When your long day is over _

_And you can barely drag your feet_

_The weight of the world is on your shoulders_

_I know what you need _

_Bring it on home to me_

When he finally raised his head and noticed her, he smiled. "Hi, Nymphadora." But the smile on his face wouldn't meet his eyes and it didn't last nearly as long as it should have. He just didn't have any strength left.

Ignoring his insistence to call her by her first name, she smiled gently back at his futile effort to make it seem like he was fine. "Wotcher, Remus," she said softly. Then she took his hand in hers and started pulling him into the kitchen. _You know I know you like the back of my hand._ _Did you know I'm gonna do all that I can? Right here._

He took a seat at the table and immediately put his face in his arms. "Can I get you anything?" she asked. "A drink or something?" When he only shook his head, she placed a hand on his arm. "Are you alright?"

He found the energy to lift his head up and look at her. Then he nodded, slowly propping his elbows on the table and resting his forehead in his palms. He stared down at the table. "I'm just tired," he assured her.

She took one of his hands and he was forced to rest his head on the other. He looked as though another minute and he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open any longer. She told him that what he did was hard. "I won't pretend it's easy," he agreed. "But it's needed . . . and I'm glad to do it."

He'd paused for far too long. "Is that true, Remus?" she asked. "Are you really glad to be doing it?" He looked up at her, meeting her gaze. Eventually, he faltered and she knew she'd struck something as he pulled his hand from hers. "You shouldn't be going out there."

He objected, but she quickly assured him that she didn't want to argue. She knew that he was just too tired to put up with it. "But you can't carry this burden all by yourself. You've got to talk about it, and not just to Dumbledore. He's only after the facts, but I want to know how you feel about this, and don't tell me that you're fine because that's what you tell Dumbledore and I don't buy it for a moment."

He groaned and dropped his head back into his arms. She knew he didn't want to have this conversation, but she pressed on because she also knew that he didn't have the power to push her back. "What's it like, being out there among them?" For his sake, she wasn't going to back down. _I'm gonna lie with you 'til you fall asleep. When the mornin' comes, I'm still gonna be right here._ _Oh, yes I am._

He didn't say anything for the longest time and then he finally muttered something into the table. "It's horrible." His shoulders shook slightly and she knew he was battling with emotions he'd kept buried for much too long. _Take your worries and just drop them at the door. Baby, leave it all behind._

She moved to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Remus, come here." He turned and put his arms around her because he needed her at that moment. She pulled him to her, holding him tightly. He didn't cry, nor did he utter a word. He simply clung to her like a lifeline.

_When your long day is over _

_And you can barely drag your feet_

_The weight of the world is on your shoulders_

_I know what you need_

_Bring it on home to me_

They were like that for a long time. It was so long in fact that Tonks thought maybe Remus had fallen asleep. She gently pulled away from him only to find that he was awake and looking like some of the weight he had been carrying had finally fallen off. "You want to talk about it?" she asked him. _Baby, let me be your safe harbor. Don't let the water come and carry you away._

Remus rubbed his eyes. "Can't we do that in the morning?" She told him that in the morning he probably wouldn't remember agreeing to talk about it. He smiled, and this time it did reach his eyes. It lit up his face and all the extra years on his features melted away. She loved that look on him, and she wished he'd wear it more often. "That's the point," he said.

She realized he was tired, so, after she'd made him say everything short of an unbreakable vow, she led him upstairs to bed. He leaned on her, stretched nearly to the end of his limits. His feet shuffled the whole way.

_When your long day is over _

_And you can barely drag your feet_

_The weight of the world is on your shoulders_

_I know what you need_

_Bring it on home to me_

"I appreciate it," he said, drowsily. "But I don't need help getting into bed."

She laughed. "Can you even take your shoes off without falling over? I don't think so." She removed his cloak for him and pulled back the bed sheets. _Oh, bring it on home._ "Just lie down. I'll take care of it."

His head felt too heavy to hold up and had felt that way for the last half-hour. Even though he wanted to protest, he couldn't. He sat down on the bed. He closed his eyes as she began to remove his shoes. "Nymphadora?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks." He let his head drop onto the pillow, too tired to fight it off any longer. Tonks chuckled to herself. _Yeah, bring it on home to me_. She knew he was gone. He'd completely passed out. She hummed quietly, placing his shoes by the door._ Home to me._

She returned to the bed and pulled the sheets over Remus's sleeping form. _Oh, bring it on. Bring it on home to me._ Then, knowing that it was safe since he was asleep, she knelt forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Remus."

_You got someone here who wants to make it all right_

_Someone that loves you more than life_

_Right here_


End file.
